NEED FOR REVAMPING INDIAN PENAL CODE

 NEED FOR REVAMPING INDIAN PENAL CODE

BY: NADINI VERMA

This article is written by Nandini Verma, from The Northcap University, Gurugram. This is an article that analyses the changes required in the Indian Penal Code. 

Around 150 years ago, Indian Penal code was framed under the British Rule. Under the colonial rule of the British Empire, India was governed by laws made by the British. These laws were restrictive and harsh on Indians and criminalized many activities according to English beliefs and legal system. The Indian Penal Code is a law that deals with various crimes. It is often referred to as the strongest criminal law in the world but due to the changes in society, the law has to be revamped to make it more relevant for modern democratic society. There have been many amendments over the years in the IPC, but there are many areas and provisions in this law that still need restructuring. Introducing amendments will bring about changes in law about the crimes that have been evolved in recent times with reference of democratic values and human rights.

A glance of Indian Penal Code

The Indian Penal Code, 1860, is a comprehensive law that defines various crimes and punishments and penalties for those involved in them. Unlike Criminal Procedure code, it states about various crimes and punishments that are imposed and not criminal procedures in our legal system. The Indian Penal Code was formulated in 1913. Its objective is to implement criminal law across the nation. It consists of 511 sections divided into 23 chapters and has been amended many times to cope with changing society.

Historical background of Indian Penal Code

The Indian Penal Code was introduced during the colonial era to replace the problematic laws of Mohammad law that prevailed in India at that time. Its origins can be traced back to English law. The first attempt at introducing a penal code in India was in 1827, when Governor Elphinstone enacted the Elphinstone Code. In 1833, the Charter Act was also introduced. Under this act only, the first law commission of India was set up in 1834. The Indian Penal Code was drafted by the Law Commission under the chairmanship of Lord Thomas Macaulay and the complete draft of Indian Penal Code was presented in the parliament in 1856. Several changes were suggested before the code was presented in the legislative Assembly and IPC was finally passed on 6th October, 1860. Need to revamp Indian Penal Code. 

Need to revamp Indian Penal Code

Although the Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860, and was ahead of its time. But it can’t be denied that the Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860 to address the needs of the British and it has not kept pace with the times and is regarded as an outdated law. At that time, it was based on the colonial attitude of Britishers to rule India. The laws need to evolve to accommodate the changes in society and the nature of crimes. Revamping of IPC is thus required to shift the power to people and not the rulers. Many of its provisions have become outdated with changing time and advancements. Crimes like mob lynching, financial crimes, white-collar crimes, economic crimes, etc, have not found proper recognition in the IPC. Many amendments have been made to the IPC since its inception like decriminalization of homosexuality, application of some provisions to the juvenile of 16-18 age group.

Some of the changes that need to be brought are: 

1. A gender neutral definition of rape is demand of the moment. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code only refers to women as the victims of rape, not men, boys and hijras. 

2. Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code, which states about the sedition, was inserted by the Britishers to suppress the freedom movements. But in present era this section is often used against those who criticize the government. 

3. Section 57: It is the discretion of the court to impose life imprisonment for a certain crime and also depends on the nature of crime. However, when it comes to calculating the exact number of years, it is fixed for 20 years. This takes away the discretionary power of a judge and differences arise upon choosing the approach of giving punishments.

 4. Under Section 294 of the Act, obscene acts done in public are considered as annoying someone. However, the word obscene is not defined under the Act and often misused by police. 

5. The punishments under Chapter 3 are very strict. They only provide for imprisonment or fine. They do not involve community service or any other form of punishment to reform the criminal.

Reforming the Criminal System

 The Indian Penal Code is a well-written and well-implemented code that aims to improve the criminal system. However it is believed by many scholars that the system cannot be completely reformed just by revising the code. The cose must be efficient enough to ensure success. To ensure its success, police reforms are needed to be carried out in order to implement the changes in the code. We need a change in the police's attitude towards the victims and complainants and FIRs and swift responses against crime. This attitude change can be achieved through various external and internal reforms. The police have to improve their human resource and their efficiency, quality of investigation, and provide a better quality of service to the public. With everything, it also must be ensured that there is no external pressure on the police.

 Some suggestions

 1. Surveys should be conducted to identify the existing offences and the proposed amendments should be made to them. With this, the state's suggestions should also be considered. 

2. Empirical research should also be done on the laws that are not relevant in the present times. Difficulty in enforcing the provisions should also be looked into. 

3. There are many loopholes in the law regarding sexual offences. This issue can be addressed through a separate chapter. 

4. The various chapters in the IPC can also be classified depending on the nature of liability. And separate chapters on cyber laws, economic offences, etc. should be added to IPC.

 5. Many illustrations used with sections are no longer relevant for today.

 6. IPC should not have political biases. It should not be biased towards any political party. It should uphold the principles of democracy and a fair justice system by protecting the interests of the citizens equally.

Reference - https://blog.ipleaders.in/need-revamping-indian-penal-code/